This invention relates to an animal toy and, more particularly, to an animal toy having a plurality of raised features on an outer surface of the animal toy which stimulates dental cleaning of the animal""s teeth and gums, and further allows for treats to be placed on the raised features to encourage an animal""s interaction with the animal toy.
Chewable pet toys have been available for many years. Many are impregnated with odors or flavoring materials which are attractive to the animal for which the toy is intended. These toys can be made of various materials, such as rawhide, rubber and plastic. The shortcoming of many of these products is that after a period of time, the flavor and/or odor becomes less strong and the animal loses interest in the toy. No means is provided for subsequently enhancing the flavor and odor of the toy.
Additionally, many toys which are impregnated with the odors or flavorings are not intended to be consumed by the animal. However, because of the stimulation provided to the animal, it may consume the entire pet toy which may cause the animal to choke or to experience fatal gastrointestinal problems by ingesting the toy.
Tay (U.S. Des. Pat. No. 188,179) discloses a pet food holder which has a hollow center for holding food.
Allis (U.S. Pat. No. 1,149,170); Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 260,851); and Edwards (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,014 and 4,557,219) each disclose a pet toy having a flavoring material impregnated therein.
Fisher (U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,648) discloses a pet toy which is odor impregnated.
Markham (U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,352) discloses a therapeutic pet toy having parallel peripheral grooves in which oral hygiene substances may be placed.
Axlerod (U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,334) and Miller (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,899,607 and 4,032,665) each disclose pet toys which are both flavor and odor impregnated.
Jungle Talk International sells a product for birds made of wood which has openings in which nuts are firmly fixed. The bird must substantially destroy the wood in order to reach the nuts. Thus, the product cannot be reloaded and reused.
A product known as a xe2x80x9cBuster Cubexe2x80x9d has an opening in which dry dog food is poured. As a dog knocks it over in playing with it, the food runs out so that the dog can eat it.
Although each of these inventions is suitable for its intended purpose, none provides means on the exterior or outer surface thereof for holding animal treats to help keep the animal interested in the toy. Furthermore, most of them do not provide adequate dental cleaning of the animal""s mouth.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, an animal toy is provided having a plurality of raised features formed on the outer surface thereof. The raised features may include different types of tips or ends which have beneficial dental cleaning effects. Some of the variations of the tips or ends include tapered tips, beveled tips, crescent-shaped tips, dual-tipped tips, and flat top tips. The animal toy has many benefits to an animal which chews on the animal toy. First, the raised features provide for a multitude of different contact surface which allows the gums and teeth of the animal to be cleaned while chewing on the toy. Second, the raised features allow food treats to be placed on and around the raised features which further enhances an animal""s desire to chew on the animal toy.
The animal toy is made of a resilient flexible material which prevents it from being destroyed when chewed on by the animal. Therefore, treats can be replaced as desired in the animal toy without having to also replace the animal toy. The resilient flexible material also provides options for determining how hard an animal must bite down on the animal toy or otherwise deform the animal toy in order to dislodge a treat. The primary dental cleaning occurs when the teeth and gums of the animal contact the raised features. The raised features are bent or deflected as they contact the teeth and gums of the animal. The raised features can be made more or less rigid, thus resulting in the desired amount of deflection as the animal""s mouth comes into contact with the raised features. It is also contemplated within the spirit and scope of this invention that the degree of resiliency of the material making up the animal toy can be varied to achieve the desired effect on the animal""s mouth for dental cleaning and also to achieve the desired effect for occupying the animal while the animal attempts to remove treats. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the animal toy is in the shape of the well-known KONG(copyright) toy having three stacked layers or sections, and a hollow core. The basic KONG(copyright) toy is manufactured and sold by Bounce, Inc. d/b/a The Kong Company, Golden, Colo.
Although the KONG(copyright) toy is shown in the preferred embodiment, it shall be understood that the raised features of the present invention can be used on any shaped animal toy in order to achieve dental cleaning and to allow treats to be placed on and between the raised features to keep an animal occupied.
The raised features are formed on the outer surface of the animal toy. Preferably, they extend perpendicularly away from the outer surface. In the case of the KONG(copyright) toy, since it has rounded or curved surfaces, the raised features extend away from the outer surface of the animal toy in a multitude of different angles. These multitude of different angles in which the raised features extend enhance the cleaning action of the animal toy with regard to the animal""s mouth as there is an increased chance that one or more of the raised features will contact different tooth and gum surfaces of the animal""s mouth.
The raised features may be of many different shapes and designs. In the preferred embodiment, the raised features are in the form of letters and animal profiles such as dogs. For the letters, they may be in solid form, or in outline form wherein the letter is formed such that it has a double outline configuration. It is known that some pet toy manufacturers place their company names on their pet toys, and some of the names may be in the form of raised letters. However, the use of the company names are not capable of achieving any worthwhile dental cleaning as the letters are typically less than 0.05 inches in height, and there are not enough letters to provide an irregular massed pattern which effectively present sufficient edged surfaces for cleaning. In addition to the raised features in the form of letters and animal profiles, it is also contemplated within the spirit and scope of this invention that the raised features can be any desired shape or design. For example, the raised features could also include geometric shapes such as triangles, squares, rectangles and the like. Additionally, the raised features could include a plurality of elongated lines which traverse the animal toy, and further could intersect at various locations along the outer surface of the animal toy. Any of these raised feature examples could be used alone or in combination with one another. Furthermore, these raised features can be in solid form or in outline form such that each of the raised features has a double outline configuration.
Another way in which to describe the raised features is in terms of an array or pattern of designs and shapes. The pattern or array is applied to a preferably curved outer surface of an animal toy wherein the curvature extends in different planes and directions. The curved surface can also be described as a compound surface because the shape of the toy is not simply cylindrical, but rather, it has multiple rounded features. By applying raised features on such a curved surface, the raised features, therefore, extend away from the curved surface at a number of different angles. Thus, an animal contacting the raised features which extend away at such varying angles further ensures more complete and thorough cleaning of the animal""s mouth.
The term xe2x80x9ctreatxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to include any items which are attractive to or consumed by an animal. Thus, treats might include edible materials such as canned pet food otherwise known as wet pet food, or other types of paste-like animal treats which can be spread on the outer surface of the animal toy and which can adhere to the outer surface and be held thereto by the raised features. Treats could also include peanut butter, or therapeutic material such as dog toothpaste or other dental treats. As the animal chews on the animal toy, use of the treats further enhances the animal""s interaction with the animal toy such that an increased number of the animal""s gum and tooth surfaces come into contact with the animal toy for dental cleaning. It is also contemplated within the spirit and scope of this invention that treats can be placed in the hollow core of the animal toy, such as dry pet food. These treats can be wedged in the hollow core which makes it more difficult for the animal to extract the treats. Because some treats will be more difficult for the animal to remove than others when placed in the hollow core, the animal can be kept occupied for several hours before treats need to be replaced. Although the preferred embodiment shows a hollow core, it is also within the spirit and scope of this invention that the animal toy could be solid without a hollow core. Alternatively, it is also contemplated that the animal toy of this invention may be filled with a material enabling the animal toy to float. For example, a buoyant Styrofoam=200 like material could be placed within the hollow core of the animal toy in order to allow the animal toy to float. Such a buoyant material could be sized to still allow various treats to be placed within the hollow core.
Additional advantages will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.